Like the title says, I finally finished my plans for upgrading my water treatment system. I'd love to hear your input since while I have done some relevant work here and there, I'm not a professional and a lot of this is new to me. Long thread incoming....
Water
Water comes from a well in Maryland. I had it tested and have testing records from the previous owner going back about 30 years. Too bad I can't find them... I'll update this when I do, but in general:
- High iron levels - I believe they were ~10 mg/L
- Moderate hardness, even after correcting for iron levels.
- Small amount of... other things. Sorry. Nothing that demands correction.
- Flow rate is ~7 GPM right now, but I am considering upgrading the pump.
Design
Here are some of the thoughts that have guided my plan:
- Iron and hardness removal are primary goals, but there is an element of 'general treatment' to account for the various contaminants that are present in small levels or that aren't tested for.
- On a related note, I have a strong preference for treatments which don't add anything to the water. That's unavoidable in some cases, but I aim for it where possible.
- CPVC is used within the treatment system, copper is used after treatment and within the house, PEX for outdoor faucets.
- I've done my best to minimize flow restriction wherever possible.
- Easily disassembly and part reuse is something I'm willing to pay a bit extra for.
- A male garden hose threat outlet is present at every point in the treatment to allow for water sampling, pressure testing, and component bypass via a drinking water quality hose.
- Copper Tube Size pipes and NPT threads have been used thoughout, except for the connection to the pressure switch. I'm hoping I didn't miss any...
Documentation
Regarding the images and model, I've used the largest expected dimensions for all components, so the actual build should be a bit more compact.
- Here is a 3d model built in SketchUp: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N_OVvCxPDAOnssoXxdQl5ABZ8bcjgbi4
- Here are a few pictures of the model: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vuB1IYy17rTdscd23
- Here is a spreadsheet with the parts list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gSxzI95zEVm28iVzqyEXdfcDZ18tf02v_Ocyif1pCm0/edit?usp=sharing
Notes and Concerns
I've got quite a few things I'm not terribly happy with or sure about. I've done my best, would appreciate any insights! Here they are, generally following the flow of the water, with some overall stuff first.
- For pricing, I can get 15% off at Lowe's, 10% at Home Depot, and 5% at Amazon, so I lean toward them.
- I have a **lot** of union ball valves in the design to allow for bypassing and easy disassembly. The price of what I have planned is worth it to me, but I'd be very happy to streamline things a bit.
- I prefer long sweep elbows and tees where possible, but I can't find any for CTS CPVC. Spears has some for Schedule 80 CPVC, but I don't want to transition just for that.
- I have the pressure switch after the Rusco prefilter to protect the switch a bit. I know this is generally not recommended, but I do have the pressure relief valve before it.
- I am planning on going with a 1000 mesh (~13 micron?) screen for the Rusco prefilter. If this ends up being too fine I'll try a 500 mesh.
- The check valve before the aerator is placed to allow for a small water column above it.
- For air injection into the aerator, I was going to use a few feet of CPVC with many small holes drilled in the bottom to create many small bubbles to increase air contact with the water. The complete systems I see sold usually just pump air into the top of the tank, so I hope I'm not missing something here...
- For the backwashing filter media, I looked a lot into multimedia setups, but in the end it seemed just having Katalox Light alone gave the best combination of flow rate, iron removal, and sediment filtration (down to ~3-5 microns).
- I've tried to balance flow through the paired backwash filters. Are there any problems with how I have them plumbed?
- Both the backwashing filters and the softeners should hopefully not allow untreated water to flow through while they are backwashing/regenerating. Is that true for the Fleck 2510/5800 control valved?
- I did a lot of research on softener resins and settled on Purolite's Shallow Shell line. Unfortunately, I can't find a whole lot of documentation on it.
- Regarding the above, I'd also like to use their SSTPPC8000E version, but can't find anyone selling it.
- I'm really not happy with how the 3 cartridge filters are plumbed, especially to and from the paired GAC filters.
- I've read a bit about LED UV Disinfection, but haven't seen any potential whole house units sold, outside of maybe Aquisense, who I emailed. Are these available?
- The hot/cold lines that go directly into the wall rather than the long route over the softeners service the kitchen and laundry only. I'm thinking of a separate smaller tankless heater for them that I'd install under the kitchen sink.
I think that's it for now! I'll update this post regularly as things are changed and once I find those water tests...
Thanks!
Water
Water comes from a well in Maryland. I had it tested and have testing records from the previous owner going back about 30 years. Too bad I can't find them... I'll update this when I do, but in general:
- High iron levels - I believe they were ~10 mg/L
- Moderate hardness, even after correcting for iron levels.
- Small amount of... other things. Sorry. Nothing that demands correction.
- Flow rate is ~7 GPM right now, but I am considering upgrading the pump.
Design
Here are some of the thoughts that have guided my plan:
- Iron and hardness removal are primary goals, but there is an element of 'general treatment' to account for the various contaminants that are present in small levels or that aren't tested for.
- On a related note, I have a strong preference for treatments which don't add anything to the water. That's unavoidable in some cases, but I aim for it where possible.
- CPVC is used within the treatment system, copper is used after treatment and within the house, PEX for outdoor faucets.
- I've done my best to minimize flow restriction wherever possible.
- Easily disassembly and part reuse is something I'm willing to pay a bit extra for.
- A male garden hose threat outlet is present at every point in the treatment to allow for water sampling, pressure testing, and component bypass via a drinking water quality hose.
- Copper Tube Size pipes and NPT threads have been used thoughout, except for the connection to the pressure switch. I'm hoping I didn't miss any...
Documentation
Regarding the images and model, I've used the largest expected dimensions for all components, so the actual build should be a bit more compact.
- Here is a 3d model built in SketchUp: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1N_OVvCxPDAOnssoXxdQl5ABZ8bcjgbi4
- Here are a few pictures of the model: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vuB1IYy17rTdscd23
- Here is a spreadsheet with the parts list: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1gSxzI95zEVm28iVzqyEXdfcDZ18tf02v_Ocyif1pCm0/edit?usp=sharing
Notes and Concerns
I've got quite a few things I'm not terribly happy with or sure about. I've done my best, would appreciate any insights! Here they are, generally following the flow of the water, with some overall stuff first.
- For pricing, I can get 15% off at Lowe's, 10% at Home Depot, and 5% at Amazon, so I lean toward them.
- I have a **lot** of union ball valves in the design to allow for bypassing and easy disassembly. The price of what I have planned is worth it to me, but I'd be very happy to streamline things a bit.
- I prefer long sweep elbows and tees where possible, but I can't find any for CTS CPVC. Spears has some for Schedule 80 CPVC, but I don't want to transition just for that.
- I have the pressure switch after the Rusco prefilter to protect the switch a bit. I know this is generally not recommended, but I do have the pressure relief valve before it.
- I am planning on going with a 1000 mesh (~13 micron?) screen for the Rusco prefilter. If this ends up being too fine I'll try a 500 mesh.
- The check valve before the aerator is placed to allow for a small water column above it.
- For air injection into the aerator, I was going to use a few feet of CPVC with many small holes drilled in the bottom to create many small bubbles to increase air contact with the water. The complete systems I see sold usually just pump air into the top of the tank, so I hope I'm not missing something here...
- For the backwashing filter media, I looked a lot into multimedia setups, but in the end it seemed just having Katalox Light alone gave the best combination of flow rate, iron removal, and sediment filtration (down to ~3-5 microns).
- I've tried to balance flow through the paired backwash filters. Are there any problems with how I have them plumbed?
- Both the backwashing filters and the softeners should hopefully not allow untreated water to flow through while they are backwashing/regenerating. Is that true for the Fleck 2510/5800 control valved?
- I did a lot of research on softener resins and settled on Purolite's Shallow Shell line. Unfortunately, I can't find a whole lot of documentation on it.
- Regarding the above, I'd also like to use their SSTPPC8000E version, but can't find anyone selling it.
- I'm really not happy with how the 3 cartridge filters are plumbed, especially to and from the paired GAC filters.
- I've read a bit about LED UV Disinfection, but haven't seen any potential whole house units sold, outside of maybe Aquisense, who I emailed. Are these available?
- The hot/cold lines that go directly into the wall rather than the long route over the softeners service the kitchen and laundry only. I'm thinking of a separate smaller tankless heater for them that I'd install under the kitchen sink.
I think that's it for now! I'll update this post regularly as things are changed and once I find those water tests...
Thanks!
